Paying for your employment advice

Our fees

We aim to provide legal advice and representation that is affordable for as many people as possible. To this end we offer a range of funding arrangements:

Insurance

In the first instance we will always check to see if you have legal expenses insurance. If so, your insurer will pay the majority of your legal fees for you, providing you have a claim that is sufficiently strong.

Fixed and capped fees

For those clients who do not have the benefit of insurance, we will discuss what level of fees you can afford and tailor our services accordingly. We are happy to offer fixed fees when appropriate. Fixed fees mean that in advance of us undertaking any work for you, we will provide you with a fixed cost for that work. This means that from the outset you will know exactly what your legal fees will be. If you are working to a budget then you also have the option of capping our fees (placing a limit on how much work you want us to do).

Charging by hourly rate

In common with most solicitors we usually charge for the time spent working on your case on the basis of a standard hourly rate, which you will be billed for on a monthly basis. Please contact us for more details on our standard rates. Different rates apply depending on the level of experience and seniority of the person advising you.

No Win No Fee Agreements

In cases where the prospects of success are strong and you are likely to be awarded compensation from your employer, we will consider working on a ‘no win no fee’ basis. If you lose your case you will not be liable to pay us any fees. If your case is successful we will take a percentage (agreed in advance) of the compensation awarded to cover our fees. Please note that this type of funding arrangement does not cover the cost of any tribunal fees or disbursements (e.g. external barrister’s fees, medical expert’s fees etc).

Reduced fee arrangements

Depending on your individual circumstances and the merits of the case, we may be able to enter into a reduced fee arrangement with you. This would mean that we would charge you a lower hourly rate for work done on your case (base rate) but in the event that you won/settled your case, you would be charged an hourly rate higher than our normal hourly rate on all the work done on your case.

You will always pay our base rate fees regardless of the outcome of your case, and you would be billed for these fees on a monthly basis. If you were successful we would then bill you for the difference, though this would not exceed the amount you receive.

Advising ‘off the record’

If you appoint us to formally be your representative, whether in negotiating with your employer or in progressing your claim through the employment tribunal, your employer (or their lawyers) and the tribunal will deal directly with us. In order to limit costs, some client chose to remain as their own representative while still taking advice and assistance from us as and when needed. In this way you can control how much you wish to spend on legal fees.

Disbursements

In addition to our legal fees, you will also need to consider what are known as ‘disbursements’ which are extra costs not charged and would include for example a barrister’s fee for attending and representing you at a tribunal hearing, and tribunal fees. Please ask us for further details.